It’s Leap Day! Here Are 7 Ways to Spend Your Extra 24 Hours

UPDATED: May 15, 2023
PUBLISHED: February 29, 2016

Leap Day doesn’t get much hype. It comes and goes, this extra 24 hours, every four years—and for most it’s just another normal day in the life of you. But this Leap Year, we challenge you to do better, to reach higher, to make something of this “found time.”

Related: John C. Maxwell: 5 Qualities of People Who Use Time Wisely

So we asked some of you, “What would you do with an extra day?” for ways to make the most of the elusive Feb. 29.

Here, seven of our readers tell us how important an extra day can be and just how they plan to use it—whether it’s by catching up, focusing on passions, or taking time to relax and refresh.

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayThis is easy. I mean how often do you get more time? Jim Rohn says the “goal of this human adventure is productivity,” so why wouldn’t I take the extra day to continue along that path? Take an extra long walk that morning to reflect, take a few extra hours to write and create, spend more time with my family preparing a special Leap Day dinner, and give thanks for all I have been given. Enjoy the extra day not to work, but to work a little harder on myself, my gifts and my talents. Extra + ordinary = extraordinary.

—Mark Brodinsky, blogger and author of It Takes 2

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayYou won’t find the secret to success in an extra day, you’ll find it in every day; live a life you’ll be happy to look back on. I wake up and write, because I love writing. Then I spend quality time with people I adore. The most important thing you can do is decide who you want to be and which dreams are worth pursuing, then live each moment making them happen. Goals aren’t achieved with an extra 24 hours, they’re achieved with every 24 hours. Balance work, love and happiness. Make every moment count.

Brendan Clemente, writer and musician

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayI would use this extra time to plan even more! Real success comes from planning and accomplishing, not from “being busy.” I would use this time to better plan each detail of my life, from business to personal. By having a few extra hours to simply think and let ideas flow, I would better position my personal and business life for the future.

—P. Joshua Gluck leads two independent insurance agencies in Pennsylvania.

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayI would unplug. I would turn off the electronics (all of them including phones, computers, TVs) and work on some intense self-care and introspection. I would journal, meditate reflect and set goals. I would refresh myself through laughter, joyful trips through memory lane and finish the day with snuggles and quality uninterrupted family time. This would refresh and rejuvenate me, allowing me to be fully present and engaged going forward—to accomplish my dreams and aspirations with a focused and determined spirit.

—Shannon Jamail, founder of Mind Body Complete

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayI plan to spend the extra 24 hours as plugged into my family as I am all other days plugged into devices.

I want to disconnect from computers, tablets and phones to ensure our day together is spent making memories face-to-face and in each other’s presence.

—Misty Mercado, U.S.A.F Pararescue military wife, mother of three and Director of Operations for SocialKNX

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayJohn Wooden’s words are the first thing that come to mind: “Make every day your masterpiece.” It took me many decades to figure out what that really meant and how to actually  apply it to my life. Many entrepreneurs, if they are really honest, would look at an extra day and want to play catch up or simply shut down and play hooky…. Then I would do what I did yesterday and the day before, create my masterpiece in the areas of True Success: Health, Relationships and Finances.

—Evan Money, speaker, global entrepreneur, producer and Ph.D.

7 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Leap DayI spend so much time doing work that I don’t get time (or make the time) to organize my work the way I’d prefer. I handle a few different businesses, so on any given day I’m switching among them, trying to get ahead (it doesn’t work). I enjoy the hustle because we’re building something awesome right now and I know I won’t work this intensely for too long. Still, I like order. So, I’d spend an extra day forming an execution plan to make these hustling days a little neater.

—Jean Walker, chief communications officer, The Reagear Group

How will you spend your extra 1,440 minutes of time? Will you use it, or will you lose it?

Related: Want to Be Successful? Do These 7 Things in Your Spare Time

There are a lot of people living by our holistic view of success—with happiness, health, wealth and a feeling of purpose—whose stories are rarely told. Maybe that’s you.

Email us with all the details, and you could be featured in the pages of SUCCESS, on SUCCESS.com or through our social media channels.

Send your personal story to [email protected]. We’ll mine the inbox every day to find the stories of extraordinary people just like you.

Cecilia Meis is the editorial director for SUCCESS and a digital nomad. She writes about other digital nomads, solopreneurs and the future of work.

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